Q: Real estate question, Maryland. I put in an offer of 94k on a house(100k listed) with a price escalation up to 110k.
My offer was for the house as is, No contingencies, cash. Second offer was made the following day. Seller accepted the second offer and we were asked to be back up bites but my agent was never sent paperwork. After an inspection was done the first buyer decided to back out. Upon receiving paperwork and doing a bit of sleuthing I realized that the second bidder was another realtor in the same office as the listing agent. They put in an offer via an llc that was established the day after I put in my bid, same day they put in their bid that exactly matched my top end price escalation. So is this unethical, and why would a seller accept an identical offer with contingencies?
A: It cetainly sounds fishy. Have they now accepted your contract and are trying to proceed based on your high escalation price, and do you want to back out, or to only pay the initial bid amount? Can you prove that the seller was in on the alleged fake LLC bid? You need to act sooner rather than later to assert your position and demands. You can also file a complaint with the Maryland Board of Realtors regarding the apparent conflict of interest and/or unethical behavior, and perhaps the fraud you suspect is real, but perhaps there is some other reasonabe explanation. Perhaps the threat of pursuing action and complaints will be enough to get you out of the deal if that is what you want. I would fire your agent, if it turns out they were complicit in this. Next time, insist on a "buyer's agent" contract when hiring a real estate agent. Do not sign the standard "agent of the seller" contract you apparently signed with your current agent.
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